Longtime local residents Cheryl and Mike Murray were interested in finding an investment property. Their daughter Ashley and her fiancé, Mike, were moving to Victoria from Toronto after finishing their degrees in chiropractic medicine and were looking for a home.
So the family found a way to deal with the region’s high home prices with a modern collaboration between generations that puts them all in a win-win situation.
Mike and Cheryl bought a condo that Ashley and Mike would rent from them — not entirely unheard of in the Victoria-area real estate market. But this situation had a twist:It was a condo that “needed some love,” as they politely put it.
Ashley and Mike would help with that work and basically be the general contractors for the renovation, investing a lot of time, labour and energy into the property that has since become their home.
The couple moved to Victoria in June, after finishing their studies at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto. Ashley talked Mike into pulling up stakes and moving to Victoria, where she grew up.
“I’m partial to mountains, trees, the ocean, hiking — everything there is to offer here. Plus, my whole family is here, and we’re very close.”
Mike jokes that Ashley “dragged him across the country.”
But he, too, was excited by the prospect of starting their careers in Victoria, especially with its focus on sports training.
He plans to specialize in sports chiropractic medicine, working with Ashley’s father, Mike, who has delivered chiropractic care to athletes at more than 50 national and international competitions. Ashley will also practise with her father.
Finding the property that fit both what the parents and couple hoped for took some effort, particularly since Ashley and Mike did it all online.
Cheryl was on the ground in Victoria, looking at properties in their price range, but being overbid.
“That’s what brought us to doing a full renovation of a needy condo instead,” Cheryl said.
Ashley and Mike immediately liked the space and location of the condo at 898 Vernon Ave. when they saw it online. They looked past the worn interior to the large windows and rooms and the location a few minutes’ drive from the Murray Chiropractic Group’s office in Broadmead. They also loved the proximity to both hiking trails and downtown.
“It’s not a particularly special building,” Ashley said. “There are no bells and whistles, but it’s quiet and well-located with great space.”
A big bonus: the building took pets.
“We really wanted a dog, so that was a key criteria for us when we were looking. It wasn’t quite the same priority for my parents,” Ashley said.
But the 1,200-square-foot space with a generous master bedroom and two full-sized bathrooms convinced the parents.
When Ashley and Mike moved to Victoria in June with four boxes — they sold everything when they graduated and left Toronto — they moved right in. Unfortunately, real life had taken over the real estate photos.
“It was a bit of a disaster. It was really dirty, like no one had cleaned it in a while. There were pizza boxes all over the place, and the previous owner had cats. I’ll leave it at that,” Mike said.
The couple went to work cleaning so renovations could begin as soon as possible. While waiting for the closing date, Cheryl had gotten right to work herself, designing a remodel of the kitchen, so that plans were ready to go as soon as her daughter and Mike arrived.
“My mom did a lot of the planning before we got here, so we could hit the ground running,” Ashley said.
Almost the entire condo was gutted, renovated and furnished in one month.
Cheryl had lined up the construction crew, but Ashley and Mike acted as the general contractors and all-round gofers for the month, while also scouring online classifieds for furniture.
“Everything in here is secondhand or refinished or upscaled,” said Ashley.
The dining-room table was Ashley’s grandmother’s. Vintage crates come from Mike’s father. A large canvas of wild horses on Sable Island is the work of a talented photographer friend.
Ashley found a wooden bookshelf for free that Mike thought looked just right for firewood. Now it has pride of place in the master bedroom, alongside an oversized mirror that Ashley also refinished.
“I’ve always liked working with my hands, and I found that I really love doing this,” she said.
A cousin tiled the gas fireplace, using tile left over from another job. Most pieces in the condo have a story, something the couple loves. A large solid-wood desk found online was the first teaching desk used by the principal of Lochside Elementary School. “He was heartbroken to give it up, so we’re happy to give it a second life,” Mike said.
Ashley grew up riding horses and loving barns and all things to do with them.
The couple were stymied as to what to use for a sliding door for their walk-in closet, until they saw an ad for sliding barn doors. Langford craftsman Colby Boldt made a sliding door out of pine that reflects the couple’s esthetic perfectly.
“It’s a real signature piece. We love it,” Ashley said.
As for animals being allowed in the condo, the couple have put that to good use. They now have a Husky puppy named Hilo, after the Hawaiian town where they were engaged last fall.
“Hilo matches the base colour pallet of grey and white, so her shedding Husky fur is less noticeable,” said Ashley with a laugh. “And she hasn’t chewed up anything, so my parents are happy. They were a little skeptical of a dog living in the new condo.”
All Hilo’s accessories match the rustic/urban décor that the couple loves. Her bed and toybox are stained-and-distressed crates.
Ashley’s appreciation of all things previously loved extends to her wedding dress, which she found secondhand, just like all the furniture in the condo.
They hope to buy a house in about five years if things go well, and will take what they’ve learned from redoing the condo with them.
“We learned a lot,” Ashley said. “We’d definitely be open now to doing a renovation. And we’ve learned that it doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars to furnish a home. I think that is a lesson we will always live by.”
She’s already picked up a dining-room set for their future house.
As for Ashley’s parents, they’re thrilled.
“If you can get into the market and your kids can pay the mortgage, it keeps the investment within the family,” Cheryl said. “If you’re willing to do a renovation to stay on budget, then you can get a ‘new’ condo without the new price.”
The work was positive for all, Ashley said
“My parents were looking for an investment property and we were looking for a home, and we’ve got that.”
